New Android-based smartphones rolled out for 2019 will have some core components upgraded, particularly the upgrade to 10GB or more RAM in flagship devices, according to industry sources.

China's vendors are likely to adopt a pricing strategy selling their 5G smartphones at about CNY500 (US$74) more than their current price ranges to increase profitability in 2019, according to sources from Taiwan's handset supply chain.

More mobile SoC suppliers are expected to start sampling their 5G-capable solutions at the end of 2019, which will spur further demand for 7nm fabrication processes at foundries, according to Digitimes Research.

As millimeter wave (mmWave) is likely to serve as the first frontier technology to mobilize Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) applications in the 5G commercial market from 2019-2020, Qualcomm is actively deploying in the mmWave sector in order to maintain its technology advantage, according to Digitimes...

With the strong popularity of the Apple AirPods, and chip developers including Qualcomm and Realtek offering solutions for true wireless earbuds, more earphone brands are expected to begin mass shipments of their new devices in the second half of 2019, pushing up demand for batteries for these products,...

In a rare move, Taiwan's top economic planner has said lackluster sales of new iPhones can be blamed partly on the devices' lack of innovations, which may directly impact revenue performance of supply chain partners in the country in 2019.

HTC is positive about its business prospects for 2019 as it will continue to roll out efforts to revitalize its handset business and achieve significant VR revenue growth by offering integrated hardware, platform, content and related services, according to company chairperson Cher Wang.

After making a magnificent comeback to the smartphone sector and a splashing entrance into smart TV market in 2018, Xiaomi is now keen to tap the emerging smart home and IoT business opportunities in 2019, according to industry sources.

IT and consumer electronics channel distributor Synnex Technology International has reported consolidated revenues of NT$34.419 billion (US$1.12 billion) for December, decreasing 1.26% sequentially and 2.80% on year.

The year 2019 will see an official start of the development of 5G-enabled virtual reality (VR) devices, and related suppliers are set to advance well in rolling out new-generation VR products in the 5G era, according to HTC China president Alvin Wang Graylin.

HTC has announced its next-generation standalone VR headset, HTC Vive Cosmos, along with an updated Vive Pro Eye headset, at CES 2019. HTC also launched new subscription service Viveport Infinity and a new software platform Vive Reality System.

China's second-tier handset brands are bracing for more upheaval in 2019 as their first-tier competitors are expected to continue to consolidate their market share, while handset demand is retreating, according to industry sources.

The supply chain of iPhone devices is bracing for major turbulence after Apple lowered its guidance for its fiscal first-quarter 2019 ended December 29, 2018 due to weak sales of its smartphones in China, according to industry sources.

Discrete NPU (neural processing unit) is increasingly incorporated by chipmakers including Huawei HiSilicon, Qualcomm and MediaTek into their mobile chip solutions to execute AI computing at new-generation smartphones, and may soon become a new mainstream mobile AP architecture beyond CPU, GPU and...

Apple has revised its guidance for fiscal first-quarter 2019 ended on December 29, expecting revenues of about US$84 billion, lower than the original estimate for the period, according to a letter to investors from company CEO Tim Cook, who admitted that the US vendor failed to foresee the extent of...

Wistron has increased the authorized capital of its subsidiary in India, Wistron InfoComm Manufacturing (India), to INR30 billion (US$430.62 million) to meet its future development in the country, according to a company filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE).

China's top-four leading smartphone vendors - Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo - are expected to be able to maintain their leaderships in their domestic market in 2019, as they will continue to enhance their competitiveness in the mid-tier to high-end smartphone segments, according to industry sources.

On November 26, 2018, Microsoft saw its market value of US$807 billion surpass Apple's NT$805 billion, officially making the software giant the most valuable IT player worldwide. But just three months earlier, Apple had been crowned the king of all IT companies with a market value of more than US$1...

Smaller vendors of TDDI, optical fingerprint identification and Type-C PD chips are reportedly lowering quotes to vie for orders in 2019, but the average unit prices of smartphone chips remain relatively stable as handset vendors are keen to upgrade AI functions at their devices, according to industry...

Huawei plans to launch a special edition each for its Mate 20 Pro and Nova 4 smartphones on January 1, 2019 to mark its achievement of shipping 200 million handsets in 2018.

While being positive about the medium- and long-term prospects of the 5G industry, most Taiwan's compound semiconductor makers, with respect to the short-term outlook, expect stronger demand for power amplifiers for various types of base stations in 2019 than handset related applications.

Global handset brands will face a number of hardships in 2019, with external factors likely to affect their performance including a high maturity of handset products, high market penetration rates, and a slowdown of buying dynamics in emerging markets.

Huawei has shipped over 200 million smartphones, including Honor-brand models, so far in 2018, surpassing a total of 153 million units shipped a year earlier, according to a company announcement.

Apple and Huawei managed to ramp up their shares in Taiwan's handset market in November, during which total handset sales were down 3.6% on month and 4.8% on year to 618,000 units, according to data compiled local channels.

The year 2018 serves as a turning point for the global smartphone industry as it sees its development enter a plateau period and China-based vendors continue to ramp up their market share.